Do and Die

Do and die. This was the message of our Ganges River guide from Nepal and it has been stuck in my head since we left the rapids. Had his English been better do or die would have been stuck in my head all day instead of do and die, but I know what he meant. What does do or die really mean? Is it a situation where the consequences of inaction are so unbearable that they are comparable to death? Or is it just an old saying that dare devils use as motivation to do their stunts? For me, do or die means taking risk. Not taking risk just for the sake of taking risk, but taking chances in life in order to get ahead. When our guide told us do or die today, yes it inspired me to let go of what was holding me back from jumping into the river, but now its allowing me to see that I have to let go of whats holding me back in life and take more risk. Everything good in my life has come from this do or die mantra. When I was hesistant about visiting ECU I took a chance. When I almost deleted the India study abroad email, I took a chance and responded. And when I almost punked out and didn't go on the river rapid trip today, I told myself do or die and it turned out to be the funnest day yet here in India. Rishikesh is great for so many different reasons (especially the food!), but for me personally its great because it has allowed me to realize that its impossible to get ahead in life without taking risk. Yes it might sound crazy that it took a little man from Nepal speaking broken English for me to realize this, but I'm finding that thats just how life works sometimes. To quote William Shedd, "a ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for." So for me as a young man going out into the world, its do or die time always.

Weh'yee "West" Barkon